Women really DO love a bad boy: Men with psychopathic traits are rated as more attractive, study finds
And according to a new study, this is no coincidence.
Researchers from Hunan Normal University have revealed that men with psychopathic traits are rated by women as more attractive.
In their study, the researchers showed over 500 women photos of men with varying degrees of Dark Triad traits - narcissism, machiavellianism, and psychopathy.
The women were asked to rate the men for attractiveness and trustworthiness.
The results revealed that men with high Dark Triad traits were seen as both more trustworthy and more attractive.
'In short-term cooperative settings, individuals with high Dark Triad traits tend to inspire more trust,' said study author, Dr Qi Wu.
'[This is] partly due to being seen as more attractive based on their facial features.'
Psychopathy has been widely studied for decades.
For example, previous studies have uncovered a link between the condition and eye-gaze, sadism, and being single.
However, until now, the link between psychopathy and trustworthiness has remained largely unstudied.
To address this research gap, the team enlisted 592 participants, who were split across four studies.
In the first study, participants were shown neutral facial photos of men with varying levels of Dark Triad traits, and asked to rate them for trustworthiness.
The second study was a trust game, while the third centred on another facial evluation taks - this time requiring participants to rate the men for dominance, extraversion, and attractiveness.
Finally, the fourth study repeated tasks from the second and third studies, involving different participants.
The results revealed that, across all four studies, men with high Dark Triad traits were rated as more trustworthy.
Surprisingly, traits like dominance and extraversion did not play a big role in this effect.
'Notably, their faces still prompt greater trust even when other traits like dominance, extraversion, and attractiveness are accounted for, suggesting facial features have a unique influence on how trustworthy people are perceived,' Dr Wu added.
The study comes shortly after scientists found a link between psychopathy and 'sadism' – deriving pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering or humiliation on others.
Everyday examples of sadism include trolling people online, killing video game characters, killing bugs and even sticking pins on voodoo dolls.
So if you engage in these sadistic behaviours – even if it's just making other people feel embarrassed online – you could be a psychopath.
WOULD YOU KNOW HOW TO SPOT A PSYCHOPATH?
Psychopaths display different traits depending on their disorder.
Common signs include superficial charm, a grandiose notion of self-worth, the need for stimulation and impulsiveness, pathological lying, the ability to manipulate others and a lack of remorse and empathy.
But despite the popular association, not all psychopaths become killers.
Experts claim people usually find psychopaths intriguing, but can't put their finger on why.
This is down to incongruous behaviour because psychopaths tend to do a lot of acting to deceive, or mimic normal reactions, sometimes changing their views and reactions quickly.
For example, Self-professed psychopath Jacob Wells said that upon meeting someone, he tries to become 'the most interesting person they know' and presumably adopts suitable interests and responses to do this.
His response also gives away another common trait - a grandiose notion of self-worth - in that he can be the most interesting person in the room.
Psychopaths occasionally tend to exhibit unconvincing emotional responses, with slip-ups including tone of voice or body language.
This may be because they are unable to understand emotions such as fear and love, but can mimic them.
Generally psychopaths' 'emotions' are shallow and short-lived and there is a manipulative ulterior motive to showing them.
For example, Mr Wells said he offers to do favours and tells false secrets to people to gain their complete trust.
He also displays insincere charm - another trait associated with psychopaths.
He says: 'I keep secrets, and tell them fake secrets to further gain their trust, and once they trust me enough, I ask for favours, reminding them of the favours I did them. I can get literally anything from them, which is incredibly useful.'
Psychopaths typically display an incredible ability to manipulate others and sometimes take pleasure in doing so.
Psychopaths often have an air of superiority about them, perhaps shown by Mr Wells' belief he can spot other psychopaths
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Zero Day Attack: Taiwanese TV show imagines Chinese invasion and stokes debate
A Chinese fighter jet plane crashes in the waters off Taiwan's coast, prompting Chinese warships to blockade the island for a "search and rescue".Taiwanese soldiers manning Dadan Island, a rocky outcrop mere kilometres from China's coast, begin vanishing one night, a fishing boat lands on Dadan. A signal flare arcs into the inky sky – and illuminates Chinese soldiers who have spilled out of the boat and amassed on the is the key scenario in Zero Day Attack, a new Taiwanese television show about a fictional Chinese military invasion. Beijing has long viewed self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, vowing to "reunify" with it some day while not ruling out the use of series, which aired its first episode over the weekend, was partially funded by the Taiwanese government, which hopes to raise awareness about the threat China poses. But the show has also landed at a highly divisive moment in Taiwan and attracted criticism of Day Attack focuses on how various parts of Taiwanese society grapple with the invasion, from the president to rural villagers. The anthology series features several scenarios on how an invasion could unfold, provided by defence experts consulted by the production team. These include the disruption of Taiwan's communication lines; Chinese disinformation campaigns; "fifth column" supporters of China stirring up unrest; and military officials turned collaborators who conspire against Chen Hsin-mei told the BBC she wanted to make the series to "warn the Taiwanese people that the war is really coming," citing China's rising use of "disinformation campaigns and grey zone warfare to put our society in chaos and make us confused about our identity". Zero Day Attack's message echoes the rhetoric of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government and its leader President William Lai, who have warned about China's threat and preached the need to raise the island's culture ministry has partially funded Zero Day Attack, while the military provided support for filming and production. Chunghwa Telecoms, Taiwan's largest telecommunications company in which the government has a minority stake, also contributed private investors include billionaire Robert Tsao, a well-known supporter of Taiwanese independence who has funded civil defence Chen told the BBC that at no point did the authorities try to influence the show. She also said she was not a member of the DPP or any political even before a single episode was broadcast, Zero Day Attack has become a political lightning rod, given the charged topic. 'Selling dried mangoes' A 17-minute trailer posted online last year by the production team swiftly racked up hundreds of thousands of views and some praised it for its message, others criticised it for sowing anxiety and discord with debate has intensified with the series premiere, which was the most-watched show on several platforms on Saturday, according to the production company. In recent days Wang Hung-wei, a prominent lawmaker from the opposition Kuomintang party, criticised Zero Day Attack as "selling dried mangoes", a Taiwanese euphemism that means stoking unnecessary fear about the destruction of one's to the government's funding of the show, Ms Wang said the DPP was "using the state apparatus to achieve its political goals".A commentary by Wang Kunyi of the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society accused the show of pushing Taiwan independence "so that Taiwan becomes a place that never knows peace".He added that it was evidence of Lai's government "once again using all kinds of channels to play the 'anti-Communist card' and stir up anxiety of war".The DPP and Lai are often accused by their critics, including the opposition and China, as pushing for Taiwan's independence. Any formal declaration as such would be considered as an act of war by Lai has in the past described himself as a "pragmatic worker for Taiwan's independence", he has also insisted Taiwan has no need to formally declare independence because it is already a sovereign nation. Zero Day Attack has also garnered positive reviews. One published by the public broadcaster PTS said it "expresses the worries and anxieties of Taiwanese from various political camps in a highly realistic and reasonable way"."It's a good watch," said one commenter on Zero Day Attack's Facebook page. "The Taiwanese people can relate to it as it reflects our current situation, the Chinese Communist Party must be repulsed as their tactics have been exposed."Some have praised the first episode, which depicts the invasion quietly beginning amid a contentious presidential election marked by violence and political were struck by how uncannily that episode reflected the current fractious mood in Taiwanese politics. Last month the island held a controversial failed recall vote of Kuomintang lawmakers accused of being too friendly with China. Another round will take place later this has led to questions about the show's timing and if it was meant to influence the recall votes. Ms Chen told the BBC that the show's production had begun long before the recall movement discussion around the show goes to the heart of one of Taiwan's most existential questions: how real is the threat of a Chinese invasion?Taiwan has had its own government since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. In the following decades, the island saw largely peaceful relations and stronger economic ties with show that most Taiwanese do not believe Beijing will attack imminently, and prefer the "status quo" in Taiwan's relationship with China, which means neither unifying with Beijing nor formally declaring the question of a Chinese invasion has become sharper and more political in recent grey zone warfare has spiked, raising fears that Chinese warplanes and ships repeatedly entering Taiwan's airspace and waters could trigger a conflict. The US warned this year that China poses an "imminent threat" to Taiwan. American officials have repeatedly claimed that Chinese President Xi Jinping is building up his military to be capable of invading Taiwan by has never confirmed this date. But it is a warning that Lai takes seriously. He has pledged to increase Taiwan's military spending, his government has carried out reforms in the army, and last month Taiwan staged its largest and longest ever Han Kuang drills aimed at defending against a possible Chinese has stressed that these efforts are aimed at protecting Taiwan and not to seek war. His political opponents however say he is antagonising Beijing which reviles Lai as a "separatist", and that he is leading Taiwan towards greater conflict with has repeatedly emphasised that it seeks "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan. It has dismissed any talk of a Chinese invasion as a pretext manufactured by those in favour of Taiwan independence to drum up Day Attack has been seen as one such provocation. Last week, Chinese defence ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang accused the DPP government of using the show to "peddle anxieties and attempting to provoke war".He said Zero Day Attack was "plunging Taiwan into the flames of war and using the Taiwan people as cannon fodder for 'Taiwan independence'.Ms Chen however insisted that her show is "not talking bad about China or depicting it as evil"."We are talking about war, and how Taiwanese people struggle and respond to it. And that's because the terror of war has never stopped, all over the world."
The Independent
13 hours ago
- The Independent
Philippines condemns China's rocket launch after suspected debris sparked alarm
A top Philippine security official on Tuesday condemned China's latest rocket launch, which caused suspected debris to fall near a western Philippine province. Authorities said the incident sparked alarm and posed a danger to people, ships, and aircraft. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the suspected Chinese rocket debris that fell near Palawan province Monday night, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said. However, he added that these posed 'a clear danger and risk to land areas and to ships, aircraft, fishing boats and other vessels' near the expected drop zones. 'We condemn in no uncertain terms the irresponsible testing done by the People's Republic of China of its Long March 12 rocket which alarmed the public and placed the people of Palawan at risk,' Año said in a statement. People were alarmed after hearing loud explosions Monday night in Palawan's Puerto Princesa city and nearby towns, Año said, adding that 'local residents also saw a fireball cross the sky that later exploded causing the ground to shake.' Chinese officials did not immediately comment on Año's statement. China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that the Long March-12 rocket that lifted off Monday night from a commercial spacecraft launch site on the southern island province of Hainan successfully carried a group of internet satellites into pre-set orbit. It was the 587th mission by the Long March carrier rockets, Xinhua said, citing the launch site. It was not immediately clear if Chinese authorities notified nearby countries like the Philippines of possible debris from its latest rocket launch. Such Chinese rocket debris have been found farther away from the Philippine archipelago in the past. The Philippine Space Agency said Monday that debris from the rocket launch was expected to have fallen within two identified drop zones about 21 nautical miles (39 kilometers) from Puerto Princesa City in Palawan and 18 nautical miles (33 kilometers) from Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, an area of coral reefs in the Sulu Sea off eastern Palawan that is popular among divers and conservators. 'Unburned debris from rockets, such as the booster and fairing, are designed to be discarded as the rocket enters outer space,' the space agency said. 'While not projected to fall on land features or inhabited areas, falling debris poses danger and potential risk to ships, aircraft, fishing boats and other vessels that will pass through the drop zone.' Philippine aircraft and vessels were deployed Tuesday to search for the rocket debris, Año said. He asked the public to notify authorities if they find any piece of debris but warned them not to touch them because of possible toxic fuel residues.
The Independent
15 hours ago
- The Independent
US wants to put a nuclear reactor on the moon in next ten years, NASA chief says
The United States wants to put a nuclear reactor on the moon in the next ten years, according to a NASA directive obtained by The Independent. President Donald Trump 's NASA chief Sean Duffy has expedited the timeline to build the reactor, and wants it to have at least 100 kilowatts of power - enough to run about 80 homes - and be ready to launch by 2030. The directive, first reported by Politico, mentions China and Russia 's joint effort to place a reactor on the moon by the mid-2030s. The two U.S. adversaries first announced their plans in March 2024. 'The first country to do so could potentially declare a keep-out zone which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a planned Artemis presence if not there first,' Duffy warned in the directive. NASA is working with the Energy Department and the broader space industry to design a fission power system that would provide at least 40 kilowatts of power. The space agency has already mentioned the benefits of developing fission surface power (FSP) on the moon and Mars. 'Relatively small and lightweight, fission systems are powerful and could enable robust operations on the Moon and Mars,' NASA states on its website. NASA's Artemis campaign aims to establish the first long-term presence on the moon. During Trump's inaugural address, he said the U.S. would launch astronauts 'to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars.' 'It is about winning the second space race,' a NASA senior official also told Politico. In Duffy's new timeline, a Fission Surface Power Program Executive will be designated within 30 days of the directive. The executive 'is empowered to provide reporting and updates with maximum transparency directly to the Administrator,' the NASA chief wrote. Within 60 days, NASA will ask for industry proposals for the nuclear reactor, according to the directive. The directive mentioned Trump's budget request for the 2026 fiscal year, which includes $350 million for a new program 'that will accelerate the development of high priority technologies for Mars, (i.e. FSP).' The funding would increase up to $500 million starting in 2027. Trump's budget request also proposes a huge cut to NASA, with The Planetary Society, a global non-profit space organization, reporting it's the smallest budget proposed for the agency since 1961.
